Package of pliable articles



March 22,1938. B. F. PERKINS 2,111,723

PACKAGE OF PLIABLE ARTICLES I Filed Jan. 12, 1937 ATTORNEY.

Patented Mar. 22, 1938 PACKAGE F PLIABLE ARTICLES Benjamin F. Perkins, Holyoke, Mass.

Application January 12, 1937, Serial No. 120,212

2 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in packages of pliable articles and methods of packaging the same. More particularly the invention is directed to theprovision of a novel package of paper 6 napkins or the like and methods of packaging the same. 7

It is one of the principal objects of the invention to provide a novel package of paper napkins or the like which is both economical and easy to 1,0: produce and which is arranged to facilitate handling and displaying of the packages.,

According to the methods of the invention, the packages may be more economically and efficiently formed than has heretofore been possible.

; 15 That is, such pliable articles as napkins have to be packaged by hand, rather than by packaging machines, and this, of course, adds to the cost of production, but with the methods of this invention, however, the workers can easily and efficiently handle the napkins and feed them to a wrapping machine.

It might be stated here that it has been usual for manufacturers toattempt to wrap stacks of pliable napkins in the ordinary way, that is merely 25;, fold a sheet of wrapping paper around the stack but this has been unsatisfactory for the reason that the pliable-body does not respond readily to accurate and neat packaging. Furthermore, such packages are so pliable that the napkins shuck sidewise relative to one another so as to have collapsible edges so to speak and they thus cannot be stacked one upon another as can the packages of this invention (see Fig. '7), as will later be described.

In another way, manufacturers have used cardboard boxes to contain the napkins but this is unsatisfactory for many reasons. First, boxes are expensive and articles such as paper napkins must necessarily be sold at low cost. Further, it is difficult to efliciently provide such packages since the pliable articles can not be inserted into a box without difficulty.

Various other objects and advantages of this invention will become more apparent after a reading of the following description, reference being bad to the accompanying drawing wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a package embodying the features of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a frame member of the invention;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of an insert member of the invention;

Fig. 4 is a side elevational view of a stack of pliable articles disposed on a support;

Fig. 5 is a side elevational View showing the frame member of of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view through a package of the invention; and

Fig. 7 is a perspective View showing a plurality 5 of the packages in display position to explain certain features of the invention.

Referring now to the drawing more in detail the invention will be fully described.

The packag P of the invention broadly con- 10 sists of a stack of pliable articles, such as paper napkins N, a framemember 2, an insert 4 and a foldab-le wrapper W. The marginal edges of the napkins are preferably in alignment and they may or may not be folded.

It is usual for the napkins to be stacked on a support S in much the manner shown in Fig. 4 and then the workers wrap foldable material therearound. as best they can, it not being possible Fig. 2 associated with the stack as previously explained, to run such stacks through a wrapping machine. With the package of this invention, however, there is provided what is called a frame member 2 and this preferably is formed of cardboard or some similar material which is relatively rigid as compared to the plithe stack. This frame member 2 may be more or less dropped over the napkin stack so as to be disposed as shown in Fig. 5. The stacks maybe moved past a worker by means of a moving belt, if desired.

It will be appreciated that a stack of paper napkins is inherently more or less compressible since there is bound to be air between the napkins. I have found that by compressing the stack before wrapping, a neater and'relatively tighter package may be formed.

Thus, as will appear from Fig. 5, the stack N is normally of greater height than the width of the frame 2 so that with the frame and napkins disposed on the support S as shown, the uppermost napkins are disposed above the upper marginal edge of the 'frame. Then when the wrapper W is placed around the frame and napkins, as will later appear, the napkins N are compressed so that the marginal edges of the uppermost napkin are about in a plane with or below the said upper marginal edge of the frame while the centers of the napkins curve slightly upwardly to create a pleasing effect, as shown.

It will be appreciated that the frame 2 may be formed of a strip of material bent intermediate its ends and with its opposite ends secured to one another. This forms a four walled frame with the walls hingedly connected together.

In order to prevent the frame 2 from collapsing somewhat and thus allowing the napkins to be crushed in handling, I provide what may be called an insert member 4. This member 4 may also be formed of cardboard and it is preferably fiat, thin and light in weight and of the approximate shape and area as the interior of the frame.

This member 4 is disposed adjacent the uppermost or lowermost napkin of the stack, whichever desired, and then a wrapper W of foldable material is folded about the stack, frame 2, and member i and sealed to provide the completed package P. As stated, the stack N is compressed so as to be wholly within the frame 2 while the insert i is arranged so that it prevents the frame from collapsing and injuring the marginal edges of the napkins.

That is, the insert '3, being relatively stiff, is adapted to keep the frame in truly rectangular shape, since the insert has as many sides as the frame and is of such size that the marginal edges of the insert abut the inner sides of the walls of the frame when any pressure is brought to bear on the sides of the package. Thus the frame is adapted to protect the marginal edges of the i napkins rather than crush them.

Another advantage of the insert 4 is that it facilitates handling of the stack. That is to say, the inserts 4 may be placed upon the support S, the napkins N placed thereon, the frame 2 slipped over the stack and then the stack,

insert andframe moved together to the wrapping machine. If the wrapper W is put on by hand, the insert facilitates this also.

Or in another way, the insert may be placed on top of the stack S and then by downward pressure on the insert, the stack may be easily compressed which, as was stated, is desirable. In any event, it will be appreciated, the insert i serves to hold the shape of the completed package.

As one feature of the invention, the wrapper W may be formed of transparent material, such as glassine paper or the like. With the package formed as described, the outermost napkin on that side of the package which is opposite the insert is visible and this is desirable since it is common to color or otherwise ornament paper napkins. Thus, while the package is well protected, its contents are visible without removing any of the wrapper.

As stated, it is one of the special advantages of the invention that the packages P may be more readily displayed than the old pliable packages. This is because the sides of the packages are relatively stiff and flat and the packages may be piled, as shown, in Fig. 7, for example, safely and attractively.

One advantage of the general curving formation of the upper side of the stack (see Fig. 6) is that the general rounding upper surface of the compressed stack tends to minimize the likelihood of the corners of the frame tearing through the wrapper W. This is desirable since the wrappers usually employed are not too strong.

While I have described the invention in great detail and with respect to a preferred form thereof, it is not desired to be limited thereto since many changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. What it is desired to claim and secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. As a new article of manufacture, a package of the class described comprising in combination, a rectangular stack of horizontally-disposed pliable paper napkins, an endless rectangular frame member of relatively stiff material extending around the stack with vertically-disposed walls disposed closely adjacent the marginal edges only of the napkins, a flat horizontal and separate rectangular carrier member of relatively stiff material disposed adjacent the lowermost napkin of the stack and between said walls of the frame member, and a relatively pliable sheet of rupturable material extending over the uppermost napkin of the stack and down around the side walls of the frame member and across the outside of the insert member all adapted and arranged whereby the portion of the rupturable material which is adjacent the uppermost napkin may be removed and the carrier member may be urged upwardly within and towards the top of the frame member so as to permit removal of the napkins without contact with the frame member.

2. As a new article of manufacture, a package of the class described comprising in combination, a rectangular stack of paper napkins, an endless relatively stiflish rectangular frame member extending around the stack adjacent the marginal edges of the napkins, a separate rectangular insert member disposed adjacent one of the outermost napkins and within the frame member, and a wrapper of relatively pliable rupturable material folded around the whole, all adapted and arranged whereby the portion of said wrapper which is adjacent the other outermost napkin may be removed and said insert member may be manually urged against the stack so as to move the stack out the opposite side of the frame member.

BENJAMIN F. PERKINS. 

